Take off Your Colours
by Abyss Walker
Summary: After a long winter of no jobs and nothing to do, the Fairy Tail gang head out in hopes of stopping what seems to be a harmlessly long mission. Atop of Mount Cupala, an evil mage makes plans to live forever, using Lucy's stellar magic. Will Natsu have the strength to face a hidden past, and save Lucy? Nalu. R&R )
1. Jobs Taken

**Hey guys! Been a while. Eh, heh.. Sorry. Well, here is a Fairy Tail story! It's been bouncing around in my head for quite sometime now, and I figured I would throw it down on some paper. (well.. computer screen?)**

**I don't own Fairy Tail, I would probably butcher it if I did.**

**I do own OC's and some places. If you are familiar with the series, then you will know which ones don't fit.. (one of these things are not like the other...)**

**The story is original, and if for any reason some time in the future this kind of situation actually comes up in the series, that was my bad.**

**R&R and enjoy!**

**_Take off Your Colours_**

It was another nice, simple, quite day in Magnolia. The sun was shining. The birds singing and fluttering around, while the people of this fine town busied themselves with daily chores and activities. Children ran around the streets, giggling and laughing, spraying each other with squirt guns, or playing hide and seek. Mothers teaching their daughters what fabric is the best, while fathers give their son piggy back rides. This magical place couldn't be better.

Relaxed.

"GRAY!"

Stress free.

"WHAT, FLAMEBREATH?!"

Quite.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT! AND PUT YOUR DAMN CLOTHES ON! FIRE DRAGONS ROAR!"

Magnolia.

"ICE-MAKE, LANCE!"

And then there's Fairy Tail. Magnolia's number one guild. Which has just had one of its walls blown out by the battle that was going on inside. The lively group that adorns this building is anything far from normal. They were a group of rowdy, loud, and dangerous folk. They were also the most loyal, friendly and protective people you could ever meet.

"Oh my." Mirajane sighed, as she walked over to a recently vacated table covered with empty glasses and half eaten plates of food. "When will they learn?"

"Whats with them?" Lifting up a barrel, Cana took a swig, "So childish." She moved ever so slightly to her right, the chair flying towards her barely missing and hitting the back bar.

"I've got your back, Natsu-nee!" Romeo yelled, as he jumped over a table occupied by Team Shadow Gear, who all three members ducked just in time.

"Watch it, Romeo!" Jet yelled, "You almost hit Levy!" Just as he started to get up, a beer mug came flying out of the blue and hit him square in the face. As he slid down the side of the chair, all he could mutter was an apology to Levy, who just sat there with a blank face staring at him.

Romeo readied himself to throw a small blue fire ball at Gray, and as he went to throw it, he was encased in a watery bubble. "No one hurts Gray-sama." Juvia warned, as a watery form of herself built up in front of the small fire mage. Romeo struggled to breath.

"Juvia! Let him go! He's just a kid!" Gray yelled, temporarily taking his eyes off the fight going on between him and Natsu, which gave Nastu the opportunity to land a fire punch right into the ice mages face. "Ahg! What is your problem, Natsu!?"

It was utter chaos in the guild today. With it being the end of the off-season for jobs and tourists, these fights were breaking out more and more. The lack of jobs made for very bored and restless mages. Sure there were jobs, but they mostly were small errands for the towns folk. Take my laundry to the dry cleaners, rescue my cat who is lost in the woods, put on small a play or two, but nothing exciting. And the restlessness of not going anywhere had officially gotten to Natsu.

"Quit takin' all the good jobs!" Natsu screeched at Gray, readying for another fire attack at the ice mage.

"I ain't taking shit!" Gray countered, as ice formed in his hands.

The doors the guild were forced open so hard they almost fell off their hinges, "ENOUGH! ALL OF YOU!" Erza boomed, as she came into the guild hall. Grabbing Natsu and Gray in mid-flight, she held them by the collars of their shirts. "You two, stop being so childish and let's go. The master wants to see us, and when he learns what you've done to the guild, again, it wont be a happy meeting." She looked around the now silent guild, "Where is Lucy and Wendy?"

"Here!" Lucy chirped, as she slowly stood up from behind a turned table, Wendy and Carla right behind her. Happy flew down from the ceiling, hovering right above Lucys left shoulder. Dusting herself off, Lucy made it over to Erza, a silent Wendy still in tow.

Erza looked around the guild one last time, before landing her gaze on Gajeel, who was quietly eating. "Gajeel, you and Pantherlily are wanted as well. Let's not keep the master waiting." She dropped Gray and Nastu, both of them landing on their faces with a groan. Turning she headed back out of the guild.

The group all looked at each other and shrugged. Natsu and Gray picked themselves off the ground and dusted off. Looking at each other, they turned to head out of the guild. Gajeel finished up his food and started walking towards the door as well.

"I wonder what that was about..." Mirajane whispered to herself, as it was rare that she didn't know what the master had planned. But what ever it was, she had a very bad feeling about it.

* * *

"I bet you are all wondering why I called you all here today." The guild master, Makarov, said as he sat with his legs crossed on a small tree stump. "I just got back from a meeting with the Magic Council."

Lucy looked up from her shirt, where she was picking off a stray hair, "Master, what did they say? Did Natsu go overboard again?" Natsu, who was sitting right behind her rolled his eyes and scoffed, while Happy, curled up in Lucy's lap, snickered.

"No, but some weird things have happened over at Mount Cupala." Makarov said.

"And what does that have to do with us, Gramps?" Natsu yawned, clearly bored with the meeting already.

"Well, the Magic Council has decided to have Fairy Tail send in there best." The tiny guild master answered, raising an eyebrow at Natsu, "And the happens to be you six." He sat up and explained the situation, "Mount Cupala has been giving off strange magic waves. They have been watching it for some time now, but recently its been throwing magic spikes, which has been disturbing the villages surrounding it. We need you to go up there and find out what has been happening, and stop it."

Erza spoke this time, "Do we have an idea of where on the mountain its coming from?"

"They think it may be near the summit, but do not rule anything out." Makarov looked at all of his 'children'. "This is a very dangerous mission because of the time of year, and we don't know what we are up against. The snow from the winter is melting fast, so be careful of avalanches."

"When do we leave?" Gajeel asked, while he leaned against a tree, his arms crossed.

Makarov looked over at the iron dragon slayer, "Tomorrow morning. Because of the lack of jobs, the Magic Council have bought you all train tickets, so do not worry about the cost." He looked back down at the ground, "Pack what you will need for at least a weeks worth of necessities. The smaller towns that surround the mountains will have Inns you can stay in until you make your ascent, from there you will need tents to sleep in."

"What about communication to the guild?" Erza questioned.

"We will have Warran try to keep contact with you, but its so far away, we arn't sure that he will be able to reach you." Standing up, Makarov took a huge breath, "I trust you will do good. You are Fairy Tail wizards. Go and get ready, this will be a long journey for you all." With that, he started to walk away.

"Well, you heard him. Lets go pack. Get plenty of sleep tonight." Erza eye balled Natsu, "We will meet at the train station at 7 tomorrow morning." She turned and started walking towards Fairy Hills, Wendy and Carla on her heels. Natsu gagged at the thought of being on a train, but started moving to go home. Happy jumped out of Lucys lap and flew towards Carla.

Gray looked at the sky and with a sigh, he started towards the guild with Gajeel, who was several steps ahead of him. Pantherlily walking beside him.

The celestial mage stretched and got up. "_Soon_..." came a chilling voice through the wind. Lucy yelped and looked around, trying to find its source, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. "What was that?" She said quietly to herself, as she raised her right hand to her chin. Deciding it must have been her imagination, she turned to go home.

"Come on, Lucy. It's getting late." Natsu said, suddenly right next to her again.

Lucy jumped, lashing out and punching him straight in the cheek. "Natsu!" she about screeched, "How many times do I have to tell you, do NOT sneak up behind me!"

The dragon slayer grabbed his face and looked at Lucy, "Geeze Lucy, what the hell was that for?" he rubbed his cheek for a second, "Come on, I'll walk you home." Grumbling, he turned away.

Still a little shook from the intrusion, Lucy stood her ground, "I can walk myself home. Why do I need you to come with?" It was weird for Natsu to be so nice, especially after being hit. Usually if she hit him, he would be on the ground whining, or pouting about it being unfair that she was a girl and he couldn't hit her back.

Natsu stopped, "I don't like the idea of you walking home alone this late." He said, never turning, "Now, are you coming?"

Lucy was completely shocked. All she could do was nod and walk up to where Natsu was. As the two started walking, Natsu couldn't help but scan the entire area with his senses. He had heard something, he just wasn't sure what it was. What ever it was though, he could tell it wasn't good and the second he heard it, he got an overwhelming urge to get to Lucy. His mind and senses kept saying one thing. Protect Lucy. And if that's what his body and mind was telling him to do, that's what he would do, despite her abuse towards him. She was his bestfriend, besides Happy, and he would protect her with everything. Even if it was just the wind.

* * *

The walk was quite. Lucy could tell that Natsu was tense, but why she couldn't figure out. The look on his face was unreadable and his movements were lucid. He looked relaxed, but Lucy knew him better. His guard was up, but she didn't know why.

They turned on to her street, where her apartment was just a few houses up. "Well, I'm home. Safe and sound." She said, breaking the silence between them.

Natsu looked over at her and then back to the road. She could tell he wasn't satisfied with just bringing her home, but he didn't seem to protest when she walked up to her door and opened it. While thanking and bidding him a good night, she shut the door and made her way into her bathroom.

Turning on the water to her bath, she grabbed a towel and placed it on the hook next to the tub. Lucy then walked over to her sink and took off her keys and set them down gently, then reached to take her hair down from the twin pony tails she had them in. She studied herself in the mirror, picking at imperfections in her face before stripping down and stepping into the bath tub.

Lucy sighed as she slid into the hot water. She loved her house. She loved her life. Her friends were amazing and her spirits always had her back. She couldn't ask for anything more.

Except one thing. And that one thing had been bothered tonight. She couldn't explain it, but something was on her bestfriends mind. Maybe he heard the voice to? No. She doubted it, it was just her imagination. It could be the trip they were all about to take. No, it couldn't be that either, Natsu lived for adventure. She sighed, maybe she was over thinking things, maybe he would be better in the morning.

Finishing up her bath, Lucy wrapped her hair in a pink towel, and covered herself with another one. Looking in the mirror one last time she stepped out of the bathroom and straight into her bed room. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a set of long pajamas and threw them on. "I guess I should start packing." She said to herself, pulling out a suit case and stuffing some clothes and other odds and ends into it.

It took Lucy an hour to pack, and by the time she was done she was exhausted. Looking at her clock she sighed. "10:30. I didn't realize how late it was." She sang to herself. Stretching, she climbed into her bed. Her bed was so comfy, with the large pink feather down comforter, and feather pillows, she snuggled in deep and closed her eyes. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

Natsu had just finished packing up his backpack and sleeping bag when Happy flew in. "Where have you been?" He asked the small blue cat.

Happy let out a sigh and flew to the hammock bed that belonged to Natsu. "I had to make sure Wendy and Erza made it home safely." He said, as if he could have done something if they had been attacked. "I'm so sleepy!"

"Pfft, you mean you wanted to make sure Carla made it home safe." Natsu teased. Everyone knew the crush Happy had on the other Exceed.

"Natsuuu," Happy exclaimed, "Be nice!" he snuggled in deeper to the pillows and yawned.

Natsu just shook his head and chucked. He had to give his furry friend credit, he wasn't afraid of his feelings towards Carla. And at every opportunity Happy was trying to win her over with a fish, despite being turned down every single time. That was more than Natsu could do with his own feelings.

"Well, I'm going over to Lucy's for the night." The dragon slayer said, as he walked over to Happy.

"What for?" Happy asked, rubbing his eyes.

"I heard something tonight. It made me uneasy and I want to keep an eye on her."

Happy giggled, "You liiiiike her." He purred, while eye balling his friend.

"No, Happy. I want to make sure she is safe. There is a difference." Natsu countered, turning a slight shade of pink. Happy knew some of the feelings he had towards Lucy, but it was only a hunch and the fact that even though he seemed clueless most of the time, the small Exceed was very alert to everything going on in the guild. "Don't forget to pack for the trip, Happy."

"Aye, Sir." Happy cheerfully said before stretching and rolling over.

Natsu looked around the living room one last time before opening the door and heading out, satisfied he had grabbed everything he needed. He looked to the stars and shivered a bit. It was chilly out. Wrapping his scarf closer to his neck he headed out.

* * *

Arriving at Lucy's house, Natsu sniffed the air. Everything seemed fine, so he started to climb up to her window, which would have been easier if Happy was there.

As soon as he reached the top, he gave one last heave and jumped inside, landing silently inside her bedroom. He saw Lucys sleeping body curled up in her bed and smirked a bit. "You know," he whispered so not to wake her up, "You wouldn't have to curl up if you closed your window at night." He then gently closed her window.

He walked over to a corner of her room and set his bag down carefully, and as he straightened he inhaled deeply. Natsu loved the smell of her room. It always smelled like lilacs and a fresh spring rain. Just like Lucy. It was a soothing scent, and it always calmed him down if he was worried or stressed. He didn't remember what calmed him down before her, but he also didn't know what he would do if she wasn't around anymore.

Sighing as his nerves started to relax, Natsu took his sandals off, carefully climbed into her bed and snuggled up on the empty side of the bed. Chuckling to himself, he wondered yet again why this tiny woman had such a huge bed. The scent of lilacs and rain, once again, lulling him to a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Lucy's alarm clock went off at 5:30 am. Groaning, she rolled over and pressed the snooze button, stretched and rolled back over to the other side of the bed. Lucy froze as she hit some hard and warm. She opened her eyes to see a messy head of pink hair.

"NATSU!" She screamed as she fell out of her bed and landed with a hard thump.

All Natsu did was grunt and roll over, taking all the blankets with him.

"Natsu, get up!" Lucy screamed again, this time she got up and pushed him out of her bed.

He gasped as he hit the floor, face first. Sitting up slowly he looked at her with a shocked and hurt expression on his face. "What the hell, I was comfortable!"

"This is MY room!" Frustrated, Lucy stomped over to her light and flicked it on. "Ugh!" She grumbled something about coffee and walked towards her kitchen.

Natsu rubbed his head and got up. He messed with his hair and walked into the kitchen where Lucy was feverishly making coffee. He watched her for a bit, wondering why she was so mad. All he wanted to do was make sure she was safe. Slowly, he walked over to her kitchen table and sat down, wiping sleep out of his eyes and yawning.

Lucy finished making two cups of coffee and sighed as she sat one in front of Natsu. She then sat at the other side of the table and sipped at hers. She crossed her arms and looked directly at the fire dragon slayer in front of her. He looked up at her sheepishly and shrugged, then decided to take a sip of his coffee, as he muttered a 'thank you.'

They sat like that for a couple of minutes, then Lucy got up. "I'm going to get dressed," she started walking away, "please stay out here."

Natsu heard her bedroom door close and sighed. It was way to early for his liking. Sipping at his coffee he leaned back in his chair, letting his mind wander from last nights weird sound and the up coming mission. He had to get his head in the game, he couldn't let anything take his focus off of what they were getting into.

After about a half hour of silence, Lucy opened her bedroom door. Natsu looked up at her and held in excitement as he saw what she was wearing. She wore shorts with a pair of black leggings underneath. Her hair was let down, hanging slightly past her shoulders and one side of her bangs were clipped to the side with a small barrette. But what he was so excited about was a red sweater. The same sweater he had gotten her for the first Christmas after she had joined Fairy Tail. The one they had spent together. He had spent so much time looking for the perfect gift for her, and when he saw that sweater on the racks, he grabbed it with out even looking at the price tag.

"You should get ready. We need to leave in a bit." Lucy said, walking to the table and taking the two empty coffee mugs. "Where is Happy?" She asked, as she turned the water on and started washing the mugs.

"He decided to stay home last night." Natsu answered, as he got up from his chair. Walking over to her bedroom door, he looked back at Lucy, "Sorry for scaring you this morning." He walked in and shut the door.

Lucy ignored his apology. She should be used to it by now, since he usually ended up in her bed when it was cold. Or hot. Or just anytime he felt like, actually. But that was just Natsu, and as annoying as he could be, he was her bestfriend and she wouldn't stay mad for long. She never did.

Natsu came out of her bed room a few seconds later. On his back he had his backpack and sleeping bag, and in his right hand he held her suite case. "Did you grab everything you needed?" He asked, sarcastically weighing her baggage.

Walking over and grabbing her bag, she narrowed her eyes at him. "There's a tent and sleeping stuff in here as well as cloths. Its going to be heavy."

Natsu just rolled his eyes. "Come on, Lucy. Lets go." He headed for the door.

Grabbing her house keys, Lucy opened the door and waited for Natsu to walk out. She locked up and turned. The morning was beautiful. It was cold out, but it would warm up during the day. She breathed in the crisp air and looked at her bestfriend, "Lets get this over with." She smile.

Smiling in return, Natsu let out a laugh.

* * *

"Where is Happy?" Wendy asked, looking around people to find the small blue cat. "He should have been here by now."

"Who cares?" Carla answered, looking up at her dragon slayer. "He knew what time to be here."

Gray looked at Natsu, "Why didn't you wake him up this morning?"

"I wasn't at home, Frostbite." Natsu glared.

"What did you call me?" The ice mage said, as he got in Natsu's face. The two of them clearly getting ready to engage in a fight.

"Enough." Erza commanded. She looked around the crowd and then back at Natsu. "The train will be here in 5 minutes. If he isn't here when the train boards, then we will have to leave him behind."

Lucy looked up from her book, "What a shame." She looked over at the pink haired mage, who looked like he was about to break out in a fit of tears.

"But Erza, we can't leave Happy behind." He slumped down on the bench next to Wendy, "He will be here."

The group new that Natsu needed Happy to fight. Happy was his wings, and it was easier for the fire dragon slayer to maneuver threw the skies when he had his Exceed.

"NATSUUU!" Came Happy's squeeky voice, as he flew thru the crowd of people and straight into Natsu's lap. "Good morning, Carla!" He gave her a happy hello.

Carla just crossed her arms and threw her nose into the air. "I see you made it. It would have been fun without you."

"But Carla, you said 'wouldn't' wrong." Happy countered, not understanding that his friend was snubbing him. Carla just scoffed, while Pantherlily chuckled.

The train pulled up and the group got ready to board. Natsu got instantly nauseous. "We arn't even on the train yet, Natsu." Lucy pointed out, as he leaned against her for support.

Erza grabbed the handle of her huge cart filled with bags and pulled it towards the train. One of the baggage workers tried to convince her that many bags were not allowed. They argued back and forth while the rest of the mages watched in horror.

"He must be new..." Wendy said.

"I don't see why she needs all of that stuff..." Pantherlily said to Gajeel, who just smirked and stepped on to the train, following Lucy and Natsu.

Moments later Erza stepped into the small booth the group had picked out. "I managed to per sway his decision." She said confidently, a small smirk lit her face.

"Which means to beat the pulp out of him." Lucy said dryly. Natsu head rested on her lap, gagging, then holding back the puke that promised to come up.

"So how long are we going to be on this thing?" Gray asked Erza, who pulled out a map to show them.

"Well, this is the first of three trains we need to take." Erza pointed out all the stops. "After this last one we have quite a long walk to get to the first village at the base of the mountain."

Natsu whined then turned over facing Lucy. "Oh you better NOT puke on me, Natsu." She said, as she pulled her arms up. He held back another gag then sniffled. She dropped her arms and sighed, resting one of her hands in his hair. The poor dragon slayer couldn't handle any type of transportation.

Gajeel sighed and looked out the window, he was starting to get nauseous as the train started to take off, and he tried to hide it well. He was a bit jealous of Salamander. This was not how he wanted to spend his first day of spring. With thoughts of a certain blue haired solid script mage, he closed his eyes and tried to relax, desbite the shaking of the train.

* * *

Darla Kanavik sat on her highly decorated throne, made up of dragon bones herself and her family had killed over the century. She looked around the throne room, the high ceilings adorned with large black chandeliers and the walls decorated with gruesome pictures of battle. She sipped her red wine out of a silver chalice. Being at the top was nice. To bad she had to kill her mother to get there. No, it wasn't to bad, her mother was a cold-hearted bitch.

"The dragon and spirit mage have started their way here, Master." A small voice came from in front of her.

Darla looked down to see her right hand kneeling down in front of her, right hand in a fist over her heart. "Good. How long until their arrival?"

"About three days time, Master." Slowly standing, the tiny girl looked up. Straightening her black robe, she took a breath. "They have others with them. The one named Titania, an ice mage and two other dragon slayers."

"Who are the other two dragon slayers?" Darla asked, swirling her chalice.

"The iron dragon, Gajeel Redfox. And the Maiden of the sky, Wendy Marvell, Master." She smirked.

Darla smiled. This was going to be a great catch. At first, she only wanted the Salamander and the spirit mage. But now with the Sky Dragon Slayer, she would be able to finish her plan out without a hitch. "Good job, Jeanne. You may go." She said, dismissing the woman.

Jeanne bowed deeply and turned on her heel, heading for the large doors on the other side of the room.

**Don't forget to review! =)**


	2. Journey to Mount Cupala

**Hey guys, Chapter two! yay.. Anyways.. It took me a bit to figure this out. I had more I wanted to put in this chapter but with the way the story is going, it would have been one big cluster.**

**But the good news it, because I wasn't able to put those things in this chapter, I got easily 3 more chapters out of it! Woo!**

**Eh. heh. Enjoy.**

**Journey To Mount Cupala**

The group of mages reached the first village on their journey. Lucy was tired from walking, and with Happy resting in her arms, it didn't make it any easier. She looked around the small village. It was a decent size. The shops looked cute, and she made a note of which ones she would go stop at once the mission was done, especially the one with a dress she thought would look adorable on Wendy. Lucy looked around the streets more, and noticed there wasn't a lot of people around. It was late after noon. Maybe 4 or so, but there should have been more people than this, right? The place looked next to deserted, with only a black smith hammering away, and a small woman window shopping.

"Come on, let's go find a place to rest tonight." Erza said, as she scanned the buildings for an Inn.

"Good idea, Erza!" Happy cheerfully said. "I'm tired!" He yawned.

Lucy looked down at the furry blue cat resting in the crook of her arm. "Oh yea, because you have done sooo much walking and flying since the train." Happy looked up at her with tears in his eyes, and she just sighed.

It had taken them a day and a half on the train and they used the rest of the day to walk. They were all beat, and they would have to be up early the next day. Lucy was hoping that whatever Inn they found, it would be found soon. She was tired of lugging her bags and the small blue cat. She was also very hungry.

As if reading her mind, Natsu spoke up. "I'm hungry." He whined, as his stomach grumbled. "Where is all the food?" He sniffed the air, "I smell it, I just can't see it."

"We can eat after we drop our things off." Erza, still scanning the village, answered. She looked to her right. "Over there." She headed off.

All of them turned their heads to see where Erza was heading to. It was pretty building, with an assortment of different kinds of flowers starting to sprout in front. The color of the house was a light blue with yellow trimming. The walk way leading up to it was a stone path, lined with clovers. There were trees in the yard, a couple of them had swings hanging off of the lower branches. A couple of rabbits hopped threw the grass, playing and eating. There was a sign hanging off of the awning that read 'Happy Home Inn'.

"Looks good to me." Gray said, shifting his bag and following Erza to the Inn.

Wendy giggled and picked Carla up, "Let's go!" She gleefully said, as she ran to the sidewalk and danced a bit with the white Exceed.

Lucy smiled as she saw the sight of them. Happy jumped out of her arms to fly over to the two. "It's nice to see Wendy so happy." she said, turning to Gajeel, who just snorted and made his way. "Okay... Natsu, where do you want to-" Lucy turned ask Natsu a question, but only found a dust cloud that signaled the dragon slayer had already ran to the building. She sighed, "well, at least it's not too late to enjoy the sunset." She started walking.

Once inside the building, Lucy, Erza, Wendy and Carla rented a room with two beds. While Gray, and Natsu argued about their room, Happy cheering them on. Gajeel went and got a separate room for him and Pantherlily. There was no way he was going to deal with the two of them going at it all the time.

The three women walked to their rooms and as Erza opened the door, Wendy went flying by and jumped on to one of the beds. "Ahh! This is so nice!"

Carla walked over to her, "Wendy, don't break the bed please." She said as she crossed her arms and gave her a stern look.

"Carla, I highly doubt she can break the bed, as tiny as she is." Lucy stated, walking in behind Erza and dropping her bags by the other bed. The dragon slayer looked at her and smiled.

"Lucy is right." Erza commented, "Wendy may be getting stronger with her magical abilities, but she is still small." The white Exceed rolled her eyes.

There was a knock on the door, and the four of them looked. Gray was standing in the door way with Gajeel behind him, Pantherlily sitting on his shoulder. "You guys ready to go get some food?" Gray asked.

"I think I'm going to wash up real quick." Lucy said.

Erza looked at her, "Okay, well then we will meet you at one of the places in town," she looked at Gray, "Any idea where you want to eat?"

Gray shrugged and Lucy spoke up, "I'm sure I can find you guys. The town doesn't look to big."

Erza nodded and Wendy jumped up, "Alright! Let's go!" She scooped up Carla in her arms and the Exceed didn't protest a bit.

As soon as the others left, Lucy walked into the bathroom and turned the sink on. She looked around for a wash cloth and found one on a shelf above the toilet. Rinsing the cloth under warm water, she rubbed her face down. _'This was so needed' _she thought, as the cloth warmed her up a bit.

She looked at her hair in the mirror and decided she needed to brush it. Reaching down and taking a brush out of her bag, she started running it through her hair as a cold chill ran down her spine. She froze as she saw a small girl in the mirror behind her. Well, she thought she did... Reaching for her keys, she swung around and screamed. Natsu was standing behind her in the door way.

With confusion in his voice he asked, "Lucy, whats wrong with you?" Tilting his head to one side.

Lucy slumped to the floor to catch her breath. There was a girl there. She knew it. Taking a shaky breath, she lifted her head to meet Natsu's gaze. He was crouching in front of her now, worry laced his face. "Lucy?"

"I'm fine, you just scared me is all." It wasn't a lie, but it also wasn't the whole truth either.

Natsu wasn't convinced. She could tell from the stern look he was giving her, "no really, I'm fine, Natsu." Saying it a second time seemed to placate him. Slowly standing, he reached his hand out to pull her up.

Once they were both standing, she something hit her. "Why aren't you with the others? Eating?"

Natsu shrugged and gave her a huge grin, "I heard you tell them you were going to wash up, so I figured I would stay behind with you." He messed his hair. "Can't have you getting lost alone this soon into the mission."

Get lost? In a village like this? Infuriated at what he implied, Lucy pushed Natsu out of the way, a 'hey' coming from the dragon slayer. Walking over to her bags, she picked up her purse and slung it over her shoulder. He really didn't think that little of her did he? Getting lost. Ugh. How about he gets lost.

His stomach rumbled, and Lucy looked at him. Natsu just gave her a cheeky grin and a 'heh'. She tisked and while walking past him she grabbed his arm and pulled him out the door with her, "Come on, fatty. Let's get you some food."

Once again Natsu let out a 'hey!' but didn't protest being pulled along.

* * *

Stepping out of the restaurant, Erza let out a long sigh. "That was a good meal." She said, as she threw her arms over her head and stretched.

Gray patted his bare stomach, "I couldn't agree more."

"Hey Ice Brain, clothes." Gajeel said, as he walked past Gray and continued down the road, Panterlily just snorting in amusement, following his slayer.

Gray looked down in complete surprised. Clearly embarrassed again, he quickly threw on a shirt and muttered something about stupid habits. Lucy blushed at the site.

"Hey Lucy! Check it out!" After hearing her name, Lucy turned to find Natsu with a chicken on his head. "I'm the king chicken!" He danced around and started clucking. He was so childish.

"Natsu, I don't think-" Lucy started to say when Happy flew up and cut her off.

"Haha! Natsu! You should find a fish and do that!" Happy cheerfully said, as hit eyes lit up at the thought of fish.

Lucy rolled her eyes and looked to Erza, who just chuckled at the fire dragon slayers playfulness. "I'm going to head back now. Lucy, Wendy, are you coming with?"

Wendy nodded her head and started walking back to the Inn, Carla in tow. Happy left Natsu's side to fly next to the blue haired mage. Natsu didn't seem to notice.

"I think I'm going to find a place to enjoy the sunset." The blonde mage said, as she glanced around the village. The sun was just hitting the top of the mountains. It wouldn't be long until it would cast a pretty glow and she wanted to see it. She started walking away.

"Okay but don't be too late," Erza called out, "we need to be up early." Lucy acknowledged Erza with wave of her hand, never stopping or turning around.

* * *

As Natsu still danced and fooled around with some of the things that were laying around, he noticed everyone had left him. Sniffing around, he caught Lucy's scent and started after her.

He was about to catch up to her when he yelled, "AY! Lucy!"

Lucy stopped and turned to see pink hair flying towards her at an alarming rate. She braced herself. When he suddenly stopped in front of her, a cloud of dust and dirt came flying up behind him, making her cough. "What Natsu?" she asked, a little annoyed about the dust. She made a mental note to take a really good bath before bed.

"Where you going?" He asked, his eyes bright with curiosity.

"There's a small field over there." She pointed to a few yards in the direction she was walking. "I figured I would watch the sun set while I had a chance to see it in this kind of place." She swung her arms around to emphasize what she ment by 'this place'.

Natsu took a look around to what she was trying to show him. This place really was pretty. He never took the time to stop and look before. Some trees were starting to bud, others already had small green leaves on them. There was a slight breeze that made pine trees stand out, tall and magnificent, as if to say, "I survived another year." Flowers were starting to bloom in places, while others had only leaves. The view of the mountain tops was amazing, still white from fresh snow, and the grass was new. A bright green, signs that it hadn't yet gotten tall enough to cut. It was quite and peaceful, very opposite of the busy hustle of Magnolia.

He decided he liked this place, and when he looked at Lucy, standing there, tucking stray hairs behind her ears, he decided he loved it. He didn't know why, but he did. "So, do you want company?" He asked, as he stepped to her side and looked at the field.

"Sure, I would love some." Lucy happily answered. She smiled and it was infectious. He smiled back.

They started walking to the field, making idle chat about the day and the mission ahead of them. Natsu commented on the lack of people, and Lucy agreed saying she had noticed.

"I think before we leave we should find out what has been going on." He said, stopping with Lucy, who then in turn smiled and plopped down in the grass with a happy sigh.

"I planned to. But right now, I want to enjoy." She pointed to the sky, which was now an array of pinks and oranges, some purple in spots. It was a beautiful site.

Natsu looked up and was in awe. He was always so absorbed in missions and finding Igneel, he never took the time to stop and enjoy the beauty of life. "Wow..." is all he could manage as he laid down next to Lucy.

Every once in a while Natsu would look over at Lucy. The look on her face was peaceful. He would smile and watch at her eyes darted across the sky, taking in all. They sat there for a while, Not saying a word to each other, they didn't need to. They were always perfectly in tune with each other. Whether it was in a fight, or just relaxing. It was a comfortable silence.

* * *

Gajeel laid in the small hotel room bed, looking at the small Communication Lacrima that Levy had given to him right before he left. He had his legs crossed straight, one hand behind his head as he gazed at the item and remembered what had happened with the small mage.

_It was early morning. Gajeel was all packed and ready to go, all that needed to be done now was walk to the train station. As he walked, his mind wandered through what the Master had said, not really giving too much information._

_"Gajeel, wait up!" He heard Levy yell as she chased after the iron dragon slayer._

_He stopped and turned, looking down to see Levy running after him. She stopped in front of him, bending down and placing her hands on her knees in an attempt to catch her breath. _'What does she want now?'_ He wondered to himself, as she stood up to face him._

_Reaching into her pocket, Levy pulled out a small Lacrima. "Here," she said, handing it to him. "It's a Communication Lacrima."_

_Gajeel took the lacrima and studied it, "What for?" He questioned the tiny woman._

_"So we can talk while you're gone." She said and then instantly blushed. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Uh, I mean about the mission..." She quickly corrected, waving her hands in front of her. "I will be here researching the disturbances in Mount Cupala. If I find anything crucial to your mission, I can get ahold of you through that, and you can contact me as well."_

_Gajeel put the lacrima in his pocket. "Thanks Kiddo." he said, as he turned to walk away._

_"Gajeel, wait!" She said again, and as he turned she hesitated. There was a hint of fear and uncertainty in her eyes. Before she knew what she was doing she ran up to him, jumped up and kissed his cheek before embarrassing him in a hug. "Be safe, okay?" she softly said._

_Completely in shock, Gajeel just stood there looking down at a head full of blue hair. After a couple of seconds, he returned her hug and then let go. He noticed her face was beet red and he couldn't help but notice how cute she was. He smiled, "I need to get going," he said, as he turned and started once again for the train station._

_Once Levy was out of hearing range, Pantherlily looked up at him. "Well, that was enlightening." he snickered._

_"Shut up, cat." Gajeel warned, the smell of roses and ink still fresh in his head._

Pantherlily jumped up onto his bed and sat next to his legs. "So, are you going to call her?" He asked, "maybe she has some information."

"I don't even know how to use this thing," Gajeel lied. His Exceed partner had been giving him hell about the whole thing since it happened. He didn't need it right now. His mind was already racing, and he was confused. His dragon sense could still smell her scent on the lacrima. It smelled like roses and ink, and Gajeel wondered why he never noticed it before. It was a weird combination, but it smelled fantastic to him.

The lacrima lit up in his hands, "Gajeel? Gajeel?" It was Levy's small voice, "Gajeel? Are you there?"

"Yea, I'm here Shorty." Gajeel said into the ball, sitting up some.

Her face showed up and he saw her smile. "Hey," she sighed, "I've been trying to call for a while now." Her hair was pulled back into a pony tail, and she had her Gale-Force Reading Glasses on, which let him know she had been studying. "I was scared something happened."

The iron dragon slayer looked at the black cat sitting on his bed, who smugly smirked back at him. Gajeel just glared. "Have you found anything out yet?" He questioned, swiftly kicking Pantherlily off the bed, not hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to give the Exceed a warning.

Pantherlily landed with a thud and slowly got up. "Hmp." He glared back at Gajeel, then muttered about his retched 'iron breath' and went to sit by the window.

Gajeel heard paper rustle and then Levy. "I actually did. It's worse than the Master thought." She opened a book and began writing something down, "according to the rumors, Mount Cupala is cursed."

"Okay, but how?" He wondered outloud. "What's going on with the villages and towns surrounding it?"

Levy looked up from her writing, worry laced her face. "They say that when the magic in the mountain spikes, any magical being around the area will be slowly drained of their life forces..." Levy looked to the side nervously, "they grow old and die within months."

Gajeel gasped and sat up, "Whats causing it?" He asked sternly. Levy eyes started filling with tears and he immediately felt bad for yelling.

"That's not all, Gajeel." A small tear slipped down her cheek. "Any non magical being is drained in days..." She sniffed, "Children are drained instantly, magic or not. No one knows the cause, and the villagers are too scared to venture up into the mountains to find the source and stop it. People try to leave but some can't."

He felt helpless. Watching her cry like this and not being able to do anything. "Levy, it's going to be okay, we will stop thi-"

"GAJEEL! YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF THERE!" Levy suddenly shouted, stopping his sentence. "All of you... You need to get out of there!" She sobbed, no sign of it stopping anytime soon.

"We will not." Came Erza's booming voice. Gajeel snapped his head up, not realizing that during the conversation with the solid script mage, the others had come into his room. "Levy," she said with a softer tone, "we are Fairy Tail wizards. We cannot leave these people like this. If what you are saying is true, then we will find what is causing this and stop it." Levy calmed down a bit, more from the surprise that it wasn't just Gajeel anymore.

Gray spoke up next, "Is there a way to know when the spike is going to happen?" Gajeel turned the lacrima so they all could see.

Levy flipped through more pages of the book. "I don't.. know... Wait! Here it is. They said the air gets heavy, like, hard to breath, hard to stand." She flipped through more pages, "some people are forced to the ground because of the weight."

"Is there a way to protect ourselves from it?" Wendy asked, fear in her eyes. She was still just a child, and from what she heard it would be deadly to her right away.

"There's nothing in the reports of how to, but I'm thinking if you get far enough away from it, it shouldn't affect you." Levy sighed.

"HEY GUYS!" All of the mages turned their heads at Natsu's voice. He came running into the room, Lucy right on his heels. Both of them looked alarmed.

Erza faced him. "Natsu. Lucy. What's happened?" Looking them up and down, worry on her face.

Lucy spoke up. "We just talked to a couple of the villagers, they said-"

"We know what's been happening." Gajeel cut her off, "Levy, here filled us in." He raised the lacrima in emphasis.

Natsu looked at the lacrima, "Oh hey, Levy." He looked back to Erza. "So what do we do?"

"We find it and stop it, obviously. You flaming idiot." Gray antagonized him.

"GRAY!" He yelled, getting ready to attack. Lucy pulled him back gently, "Natsu, now isn't the time." She begged, "this is serious. People are dying."

Natsu looked back at his blonde friend and relaxed, feeling bad when he saw the seriousness and fear in her eyes. "Sorry..." He sheepishly said.

"I'm sorry I can't be more help." Levy said, and they all turned back to her. "I don't know how you would get out of the area quickly. The only thing I could think of is to get above it. Though the spikes are more frequent, they only happen every couple of weeks now."

"You did good, Levy." Erza praised. "Thank you."

Levy nodded, "Good luck guys. Please come back soon. Fairy Tail misses you." Her face disappeared and the lacrima went blank.

They sat there for a while, all of them lost in thought. Gajeel sat in his bed, Erza at the other end of it. Gray leaned against the wall next to the bathroom while Wendy and the three Exceeds sat in the middle of the floor. Lucy and Natsu still stood in the door way to the room.

Gray was the first to speak up, "Well, there's nothing we can do right now." He stood off the wall, "I'm going to bed." He said goodnight and walked to his room.

Agreeing with Gray, Erza got up, "We need to head out early. I suggest get a good nights sleep." She walked out. Wendy and Lucy followed Erza, while Natsu nodded to Gajeel then headed to his room.

Gajeel looked at Pantherlily. "What are we gonna do?" he asked, as he took his boots off and laid down.

"I don't know." The Exceed said with a sigh, "But what ever it is, we need to do it quick."

* * *

The morning was dark and cold. Some time during the night clouds had moved in, and it was now a light whirl wind of snow flurries. The woman at the Inn had givin the mages some food and water to bring with them on their journey, and assured them that the flurries would soon turn into rain. Natsu hummed in annoyance, neither one was a better option.

He looked over at Lucy just as she shivered and pulled the collar of her jacket closer to her neck. He could see the condensation when ever she let out a breath. It really was cold out, the only reason he knew how cold was because he himself was chilly. Being a dragon slayer of the fire element ment that he was always warm.

Happy shivered as he walked beside Natsu. He stopped and pulled out a small scarf and handed it to his furry blue friend. "Here," he said, "I know you didn't pack anything warm."

"Thanks, Natsu." Happy said, smiling and throwing the scarf around his neck, then tucking it nicely.

They walked in silence for a while. The snow eventually turned into rain, just as the old woman had said. At one point they had stopping for lunch under a huge fir-tree and were able to dry off a bit thanks to Natsu and Wendy teaming up to blow warm air on them. Once they began walking again, they didn't stop for several hours.

"So, are we going the right way?" Gajeel asked, breaking the silence.

Gray looked over at him, "I'm not sure, I'm just following Erza." He stepped over a puddle of slush.

"I can feel a magic pull, and it's getting stronger in this direction." Erza answered, still continuing up the steep mountain path.

"Erza," Lucy called, "I'm completely soaked and freezing." She slipped on a patch of ice and let out a yelp. Natsu was there in a flash catching her before she fell.

He steadied her, "you should watch your step more carefully up here." Helping her around the patch, he took a step back to make sure she had all of her balance before letting her go completely. Lucy sheepishly smiled up at him and mouthed the words 'thank you'.

Erza watched the two, then turned to look at the rest of her crew. They were all soaked and shivering. It was a sad sight really, "Let's find a cave and dry off for the night." She concluded. It was getting darker, and she knew it probably wasn't the safest idea to continue with the path as rugged as it had gotten.

"Happy, can you fly up and tell us if you see any caves?" Natsu asked, looking down at the small Exceed.

"Aye, Sir!" He cheerfully said, as he flew up into the sky.

Wendy looked to Carla, "Carla, could you please, as well?" Nodding, she took off to the sky.

"I guess I should help as well," Pantherlily sighed, as he took off as well.

It didn't take long for the three Exceeds to come back down. "There is a cave over this way. It looks deep enough to be dry inside and high enough for a fire." Carla informed them, "It's about a 10 minute walk."

"Alright!" Natsu said, as he fist pumped the air.

Erza smiled, "okay then, what are we waiting for."

* * *

"How far are they now?" Darla asked, turning from the mirror she was studying herself in. She had heard Jeanne's soft foot steps long before the mage stepped into the room.

"About half way up the mountain, Master." Jeanne was tiny. Standing at only 4' 5" with dark green hair, she looked innocent enough. But Darla knew her abilities, and how strong she really was. That was why she kept the mage as her right hand.

Looking back at the mirror, she played with one of her forming wrinkles. "I'm starting to age again," she turned back to Jeanne.

Jeanne raised her head, "Would you like me to set up another treatment, Master?" An evil gleam in her eyes.

Shaking her head, she walked to Jeanne. "Not yet. But I do need you to summon the twins."

Putting her head down, a dark aura shown around her, and moment later two small children materialized in the room.

"You called, Madam?" One of the twins spoke.

Darla looked at the twin who had addressed her, "Cali, I need a favor from you and Hika." She looked her up and down.

"Anything for you, Miss." Hika said, as she curtsied. Hika had long, curly black hair. She wore a Victorian style dress in different shades of white. Her shoes were also a pristine white and atop her head sat a very small white top hat.

Cali also curtsied. With long pure white hair, she was dressed to match her twin. The only difference was that Cali was dressed in black. The two was a sight to look at, especially since they were only children, being 10 years old at the most.

Smiling, Darla called the children to her. Hika skipped to her side, while Cali walked. "There are bad people on our mountain." she said in a devious voice. "They have come to take our castle. What I need you to do is catch them, and bring them back here so I can have a talk with them."

"You mean destroy them, Madam?" Cali asked, looking up at Darla with eyes that were so white, you could barely tell where they began.

"I think you should lock them up forever, Miss." Hika giddily said, black eyes filled with mischief.

Darla's smile got even bigger as she walked them over to Jeanne. The tiny mage pulled out a small lacrima and a picture of Lucy, Natsu and Wendy showed. "See these three?" Darla asked them, "I need you to bring them back with you. All others can be exterminated."

The twins nodded, "we will bring them back, Madam." Cali stated, before turning to walk away.

"We will not let you down, Miss." Hika then turned to walk with her twin out of the chamber.

Jeanne put the small lacrima back in her robes. "Do you think they are ready?"

"They have been training for this moment all of their lives." Waving her hand to signal the tiny mages dismissal, "Though they are children, you should not under estimate them, Jeanne."

Jeanne bowed deeply, "understood, Master." She then took her leave.

* * *

Back in the cave, the group had set up camp. Thanks to Natsu, there was a large warm fire blazing, surrounded by sleeping bags. Gray and Gajeel decided to go get more firewood while Erza was teaching Wendy how to hunt food against Carla's wishes. Happy slept peacefully, curled up into a little ball in his sleeping bag.

Lucy sat in front of the fire, hugging her knees and watching the flames. "I'm still so cold." She said, shivering a bit. The sun was almost set, and she never took into account that they would be on a mountain, during the beginning of spring. Her jacket was still soaked and with everyone else's clothes, it was hanging up drying. The rain had turned into snow, and the wind was picking up by the hour.

Laying on his side, lost in thought, Natsu opened his eyes looked at her. "Hmm?"

"I said it's still cold. I didn't realize how cold it would be up here." She shivered again, running her hands up and down the bottom parts of her legs.

Natsu sat up and sighed. "You complain a lot, Lucy." He got up and walked off.

"What?! I do no-" She was cut off as something warm and hard pressed against her back. Gasping, she tried to turn, but stopped when she realized what it was.

"Better?" Natsu asked, his back now to her. He sighed as he leaned more into her back and closed his eyes.

Lucy was shocked at how much heat came off of him. She instantly relaxed, leaning back into him. "Yes. Much better. Thank you Natsu." She closed her eyes.

He mumbled something that Lucy guess was a 'you're welcome'.

Some time later, Gray and Gajeel came back, arms full of wood, and right behind them was Erza and Wendy, who smiled brightly because she was able to catch a boar.

"Heh, would you look at those two." Gajeel scoffed, as he set the wood down by the caves wall. a very large Pantherlily walked in right beside him, and set his own bundle down on top of Gajeels before shrinking back down.

"I think it's cute." Erza said, as she set the lifeless boar down. She turned to the fire and started setting up a rotisserie to cook it on. "They really have no idea. I don't think one could function properly without the other." She smiled.

Gray walked to his sleeping bag and sat down, warming his hands in the fire. Not because he needed to, but out of habit. "I wonder when they will figure it out."

"Figure out what?" Wendy asked, curiosity in her eyes, as she helped Erza.

"That they obviously like each other," Pantherlily sat next to Gajeel. "And that they are ment to be." The Exceed looked around the cave until he spotted Happy passed out on his tiny sleeping bag. "Lazy cat," he said under his breath.

"Hey, you two." Carla called, as she walked over to the sleeping couple. At some point they had fallen to the side and were now laying down, still back to back. "Foods here, wake up." The white Exceed nudged Natsu with her foot. He groaned and scratched his chest. Crossing her arms, she looked back down at him. "He is so hopeless." she sighed, and walked over to Wendy's sleeping bag and sat down.

Lucy yawned and slowly sat up. "Hey guys," she sleepily said, "What's for dinner?"

Wendy jumped up, "I caught a boar!" She beamed, happy about her catch.

"That's amazing, Wendy!" The blonde celestial mage said. She looked down at Natsu and blushed when she realized he was so close to her. "Uh... Natsu... Hey, wake up." she tapped him. He grumbled again, but opened his eyes this time. Smelling more people here he sat up immediately.

"Gajeel." He said in a low voice, "do you smell that?" Getting up, he sniffed around more. This smell wasn't friendly, and he couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. Instinctively, he moved closer to Lucy.

The iron dragon slayer sniffed the air. "It smells like..." Gajeel thought about it. What was that smell?

"Static and rust. Right?" A small, high pitched voice came from the back of the cave.

The group of mages jumped up and looked at the back of the cage. Natsu and Gajeel getting into crouching stances, teeth bared and ready for a fight. Lucy was still behind Natsu, and Wendy walked up behind Gajeel. Erza and Gray took a stand on either side of the dragon slayers.

"I always thought it was more of a rust and static." Another voice said at the entrance of the cave.

"Who's there?!" Erza commanded as she stepped towards the first voice. With Erza watching the back cave, Natsu turned to the front. He let out a low growl. "Show yourselves, now!" she commanded again.

Lucy heard them giggle as they stepped into the light of the fire. They were smaller than Wendy. The way they dressed gave her a headache, but their eyes is what terrified her. "They're children?" Lucy gasped, completely shocked, she put her right hand on her keys.

"What do you want?" Natsu yelled, as he stepped forward to put Lucy behind him. She didn't protest.

"The magic that I'm sensing from them is weird." Wendy said, as Carla flew up to hover over her. "Wendy, be careful. Looks are not everything." The white Exceed warned. Wendy nodded and readied herself for an attack.

"But, their just children, right?" Lucy said again, now holding Natsu's shoulder. He shook his head, Happy flew over to his slayer. "Natsu..." was all he was able to whisper, fear in the poor cats eyes.

"Cali, I don't think they're taking us seriously." Hika said in the back of the cave, pouting a bit.

"Requip- Black Wing Armor!" Erza yelled, and her armor changed at her command in a flash of white light. She flicked her sword, testing it's weight and integrity. "They may be children, but do not let your guard down." She looked to Gray, then to Natsu. The ice mage nodded at her, and cupped his hands together.

"Let's play for a while then, Hika." Cali said, her voice hiding a hint of a smirk. She took a step forward, and her eyes flashed. With a mischievous smile, she lowered her gaze. "Slow."

**Please don't forget to review! I am always open for crits and possibly ideas. =)**


	3. Twins Charge

**Hello! Sorry it took so long. This fighting scene gave me so much trouble. When I first made Hika and Cali, I thought it would be an amazing idea! But I didn't think about execution. Ehh, =/**

**Here is chapter 3! Yay.. I hope you enjoy it, it wasn't coming out as easily as the first two chapters were. But once I got past that first part, it kinda fell together.**

_**Twins Charge**_

Hika smiled at her twin as she raised her hands over her head and twisted her body, "Whirl Wind - Rain!" She chanted, as she hurled her spell at the one they called Erza. It hit and she watched as the red-haired mage flew back against a wall. Looking disheartened, she sighed. "Hmm, this may not be as fun as we though, Cali." Erza let out a cry of pain.

Natsu hands caught fire, "Erza! Why you little- Huh?" He looked down at his flames. "What the hell?" They were moving slowly, he tried to raise his hand to get a better look, but that too moved slowly.

"Natsu! I can barely move!" Lucy yelled, as she grabbed one of her keys and slowly unhooked it. She needed her quick movement, or she wouldn't be able to summon any of her Spirits.

Cali moved so fast it looked like a streak of light. She went right up to Lucy and smacked her keys right out of her hand. The key flew and landed with thud. "Now, now. We can't be having Spirits joining the fight." A wicked smile grew on her face, "We are just children, after all."

"And we are out numbered." Hika finished with a laugh.

"Ice Make - Lance!" Gray said, as he started to form his magic. Ice sprang out of his hands, but as soon as the lances formed, they slowed down again. Just barely gliding through the air, one took a nick out of Cali's shoulder.

She looked down at her shoulder and watched as the blood dripped down. "Ouch. That was mean. You need to learn how to freeze correctly."

"What the hell are you talking about, you little freak?" Gray angrily said, as he readied for a second attack. He hated this feeling.

"You should really, Stop." Cali's eyes flashed again and Gray was frozen in place. His eyes moved to Erza, who was trying to stand.

Hika danced around, "Oh, Cali! You are so funny!" She laughed and twirled around the cave. "You see," she addressed the group, "Cali's magic is 'Time Control'!" She let out another laugh more high-pitched than the last one, "and she just stopped your friends time. He can see, and hear everything!" She walked up to Gray and punched him in the ribs. He didn't move or make a sound, but his eyes said he was rolling in pain. "He can also feel everything that happens to him." Hika punched him again, this time in the face.

Gajeel took in a deep breath, "Iron Dragon's Roar!" He yelled as a strong gust of wind filled with tiny shards of metal came flying out of his mouth. It hit its target, sending Hika flying away from Gray and towards the wall. She hit hard. Trying as hard as he could to move faster, he went to the side then advanced on Hika.

She glared and whipped the blood off of her forehead. "That wasn't very nice." She sneered and moved her hands to the right side of her body, readying for an attack, "Hale Storm Blast!" She cried as a tremendous blast of ice chunks and rain came shooting out of her hands, hitting Gajeel and flinging him out of the cave. "Humph. I guess that means I win."

"Gajeel!" Wendy screamed, and started to inhale a huge breath. Cali walked over and kicked her down to the ground before she could finish. Wendy gasp and started to cough. "This was easy." Hika walked over to her and put her hands out towards her neck. As she chanted, a metal looking choker materialized on Wendy's neck with a chain attached. "I got one, now the Spirit mage." Cali took the chain.

"Wendy..." Carla whispered, her hand over her mouth. All she could do was stand there and watch in horror as her slayer was brought down and cuffed.

Natsu growled as the black-haired twin walked over to Lucy, who was still standing behind him. "Don't you touch her!" He yelled as his flame slowly crawled up his arm. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" Turning his body as quick as he could, he grabbed Lucy, knocking her to the side and punched Hika in the face in one solid movement.

Hika screeched and glared at the fire dragon slayer, "Bastard." She held her hands in front of her, "Cone of Ice!" A long stream of ice shards shot out of her hands and wrapped themselves around Natsu, completely encasing him in ice. She walked back over to Lucy, who just stood and stared at her best friend, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes. "You." Hika grabbed the blondes hair and wretched her hair back. "Miss is especially interested in you." Holding her hand over Lucy's neck, a metal chain that matched Wendy's formed. She handed the chain over to Cali.

"What do you want from us?" Lucy cried, her eyes never leaving Natsu.

"Madam sent us to fetch you." Cali said casually said.

"But why!" The blonde screamed, shaking her head.

Cali tugged her chain hard, causing Lucy to choke and fall to her knees. "We don't ask questions when she asks. I'd recommend you to do the same." She looked Natsu up and down. "Hika, how are we to get this ice chunk back?" she knocked on the ice.

Laughing and twirling, Hika answered. "Stop his time, then I will melt my ice!" She giggled. "Miss is going to be so happy!" She stopped and put her finger to her chin. "I wonder if she will give us a treat. Maybe we can have a puppy!" Her eyes got big and she giggled.

"Sister, I doubt Mad-"

"REQUIP- FLIGHT ARMOR!" Erza boomed, cutting her off. With extraordinary speed, she rushed at Cali. Stunned at the sudden attack, all she could do was stare as the requip mage reached her in seconds. Slashing up with her sword, Erza landed her attack and sending the time mage flying towards the back wall. Cali hit, and a sickening crack sounded through the cave. She slid down to the floor, not moving. Her bright eyes losing their light and glazing over, a small stream of blood creeping out of the sides of her mouth.

"CALI!" Hika cried, as she ran to her twin. "Cali, get up." She sobbed, cradling her lifeless form in her arms. She rocked back in forth, "Miss expects us back soon..." tears streaming down her face. "HOW!?" Her dark eyes now on Erza.

"My Flight Armor is made for speed. While wearing it, I am immune to most slowing magics." Erza answered, before walking over to Lucy and Wendy, both were still on the ground. She studied the chokers around their necks, before snapping them in half. "Are you two alright?" She asked, while helping them up.

Wendy nodded, "I can finally move normal again." She turned to Gray, who fell to his knees and wrapped his arms around his chest in a grimace. "Are you okay, Gray?" She asked him. He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, noting the pain he was in. She was glad they could finally move, and she would have to check the ice mage out after to make sure he was okay, but she wasn't to sure that killing the twins would be the best. Wendy tried to avoid violence when she could.

Lucy grabbed her keys and ran to Natsu. She slid her fingers down the ice that surrounded him. It was cold, and it seemed to be melting slightly, despite the winter surroundings. She hit it and nothing happened. "Gray, can you break this ice?" Looking to him, worry laced her features.

He let go of his ribs, slowly standing up and muttered 'fucking bitch' under his breath while looking at Cali then glanced Lucy and iceblock Natsu. "I can try." He started making his way over, trying to ignore the shooting pain.

"Oh no you don't!" Hika screamed as she jumped up. "Static Charge!" There was a flash before a shower of lightening bolts starting to rain down from the roof of the cave. Her dark eyes flashed with pain and revenge. "You took my sister! She was MINE! You had no right!" She screamed again, pushing her spell to throw more lightning down on them.

Gajeel stepped in and threw his arm out, turning it into a large metal club and conducted all of the lightning to himself. "Gray, get Natsu out of that, NOW!" He yelled, as he swung his arm to knock Hika down to stop her spell. She quickly got back up and ran for him.

"No, I figured I would just sit around and enjoy the show." Gray sarcastically mumbled, as he formed a hammer and attempted to break the ice. He hit at it a couple of times, while Gajeel and Hika danced around the cave, throwing punches and kicks at each other. "This isn't doing anything!" He growled angrily.

"That won't work, you know." Hika called to him, as she dodged Gajeels fist. "My elements are strong." He finally landed a punch, "Ouch!" She turned and glared at the iron dragon slayer, "Twister!" She threw her arms out and blasted Gajeel to the ground. Erza and Wendy were also thrown back from the blast of sudden wind.

"Gray, look!" Lucy gasped as she watched the ice surrounding Natsu start to crack. She stepped back, she knew him better. He was breaking the ice from the inside, and the second he suceeded, it would shatter all and throw ice chunks everywhere.

There was a low hum coming from his frozen from and as the ice cracked and fell away it got louder and louder, until it shattered. "RRRAAAAAHHHH!" He screeched, as he turned to Hika. The small girl's eyes said she was terrified, but her body said she wasn't going to back down. Natsu's body was engulfed in flames and his eyes were almost black. "Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!" He yelled as he ran toward Hika. She tried to run but he was faster, hitting and knocking her out of the cave in a blazing glow.

She landed in a snow pile just outside the cave and Natsu ran out to find her, Wendy and Gajeel on his heels. Hika chanted and a small twister of snow and rain came shooting out of the ground to pick her up. She floated above the group of wizards. "You will pay for what you have done to my twin." She threatened. The twister of snow and rain under her slowed down and eventually stopped before starting again in the opposite direction at a faster pace.

Natsu growled, "I'm done with you, you fucked with the wrong guild!" The wind of the twister whipping his pink hair in all directions. His eyes were dark as he took a deep breath, "FIRE DRAGON'S ROAR!" He screamed and let out a huge stream of fire from his open mouth.

"ARTIC BLAST!" Hika countered, raising her arms. The attack came from the tunnel of whipping snow and rain she hovered above, it turned to ice quickly and rushed at the dragon slayers fire. The two attacks hit each others and exploded on contact, sending fire and ice in every direction. The force of the blow sending Hika hurling backwards and out of site.

Natsu smiled triumphantly, and turned to the rest of the group. "Now that's how you do it." He walked over to Lucy and Gray. "You guys okay?" He addressed the group. Gray grunted, which caused Natsu to look at him. "Gray?"

Lucy looked up at him as the ground started to shake. "Natsu!" Lucy cried as she grabbed his arm in an attempt to steady herself.

"You over did it again, Flamebreath!" Gray yelled, grabbing his ribs and looking around for something to hold onto.

"Don't call me names, Icebrain!" Natsu countered, Lucy falling to the ground as a violent tremor knocked her down.

"AVALANCHE!" Erza warned as ran over and grabbed Wendy and Carla.

Lucy let out a cry as Natsu went to grab her. He just barely missed as he and the others were hit by a huge wall of snow. He rolled and rolled while trying to catch himself but the snow was just too strong. He yelled for Lucy, still reaching out in an attempt to find her as an ice chunk his the back of his head. Natsu let out a loud yelp and everything went black.

* * *

It was cold. And dark, very cold and dark. Where was he? What happened? Natsu tried to lift his arm but couldn't. He sat there for a second and thought about it, one minute he was sleeping and the next... Then everything hit him. The fight, the avalanche. Lucy. Lucy! Attempting to sit up he hit his head, damn that hurt. Growling, he lit his body on fire and started melting the snow around him.

It didn't take long for him to melt a hole large enough for him to climb out of. He sat there for a couple of minutes, taking in the scenery. It was about mid afternoon, and the sky had cleared up, revealing it to be a bright blue. There were broken trees and mostly covered bushes everywhere around him. He seemed to be in the middle of what used to be a wooded area. He rubbed his head and looked at his hand, there was a small amount of blood, but not enough to worry to much about. The iceblock had really knocked him out for a while. "Dammit..." He muttered. "Everyone.. Lucy..."

"NATSUUUU!" Came a small cry. Hearing his name he turned to the sky as a small black dot came flying down towards him. Before he knew it, Happy had slammed into his chest and knocked him on his back. "Natsu!" the small cat cried, "Natsu! I'm so glad you're okay!" He started to purr a bit and curled deep into the fire dragons chest.

"Haha! Happy!" Natsu matched his excitement. "Are you okay?" he messed with Happy's fur and looked for signs of injury. He was satisfied that there were none. "Happy, have you seen the others?" His thoughts on all of his comrades, but Lucy's face showing the most in his mind.

Knowing what he really ment, Happy sighed. "I haven't seen her, Natsu. Or anyone else." the Exceed looked up at his slayer, "Natsu... We need to find them." Tears started forming in the blue cats eyes.

Rubbing Happy's head, Natsu lifted him up as he stood. "Let's go find them, then." He smiled brightly, filling Happy with hope even though he, himself, did not feel very hopeful. What if Lucy was seriously hurt? And what about Erza and Gray? Had everyone survived? He vaguely remembered seeing that weird girl go flying, but did she follow them?

He shook the bad thoughts out of his head. They would be fine, they were Fairy Tail after all. They didn't know the meaning of 'give up'. He stretched and lifted Happy into the air so the cat could use his wings. Natsu sniffed the air, but he didn't catch any scents. "Come on, Happy." He said as he started walking aimlessly to the side of the mountain.

"Aye, Sir!" Happy cheered as he flew up and followed.

* * *

"Oh, you're awake." Erza said to Wendy, as she added more wood to the fire. "How do you feel? You hit your head pretty hard." She sat down next to the small mage, glad to see that she was feeling well enough to open her eyes.

Wendy yawned and slowly sat up, "Carla..." The small mage rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked around for her Exceed, sighing in relief at the sight of the white cat curled up at the foot of the sleeping bag. "What happened?" Wendy asked, looking around, "and where is everyone else?"

Erza leaned over and put her hand to Wendy's forehead, checking her temperature. "It would seem that when Natsu and Hika's attacks hit, they caused an avalanche." She dropped her hand to her lap. "We were all separated. I grabbed you before we were buried."

Noticing that the re-quip mage had a bandage wrapped around her arm, Wendy tilted her head to the side, "Are you okay?" Examining the patch.

"Yes, I'm fine. It's just a small scratch." Looking down at her arm, she noticed her bandage now had blood seeping through. She grimaced as she looked back at the blue haired mage.

Wendy kneeled next to her, lifting her hands over the wond. She chanted something under her breath and a small blue light started to shine out of the palms of her hands. A couple minutes passed and the light in her hands disappeared. "There." Wendy smiled, "Feel better?"

Erza flexed her arm, and then took the bandage off to reveal healed skin. "Thank you, Wendy. I don't know what we would all do with out you." She rubbed the small slayers head.

Wendy beamed. "So, what will we do now?" The dragon slayer asked, folding her hands in her lap. Her stomach rumbled loudly, causing her face to turn a slight shade of pink.

Smiling, Erza stood up, "well first, let's go find some food. I'm a little sad that we weren't able to eat the boar you caught." She held her hand out for Wendy. "Come on, let's go catch something else."

Wendy smiled and nodded in agreement. She grabbed Erza's hand and she pulled the small mage to her feet.

* * *

"Fuck, are you kidding me?" Gray hollered, as he kicked a tree, which resulted in the snow falling off its branches in clumps and landing on him. That was okay though, he was pretty immune to the cold anyway. It was the pain in his chest that bothered him. "Gaa!" He threw the snow off of his arms. Normally, he wouldn't lose his cool over something like this. But on top of the fact that he was lost, with Gajeel, he was still in pain. A lot of pain. He was pretty sure that little freak of nature had broken his rib.

Pantherlily looked up from the small rock he was sitting on. "Freaking out isn't going to help the situation." He poked the fire with a long stick. "You're only going to hurt yourself more."

"Shut up, you fucking cat!" Gray growled, as he fell to the ground, holding his rib, wishing the pain would recede. "Ugh... I'm sorry." He apologized to Pantherlily. Leaning his head back against a tree, he sighed, "we need to look for everyone. Or at the very least find out what the hell those little jerks were talking about." His stomach rumbled.

"Well that was good timing. Hungry Iceman?" Gajeel said, bursting through the trees and dropping a couple of large rabbits in front of Gray and Pantherlily. "Hey, gut those things while I work on the fire."

Gray made a knife out of ice and grabbed the first rabbit. "So, did you happen to see any signs of the others while you were out there?" He ripped carefully into the small mammal, "do you know how far down the mountain we got tossed?" Ew. He hated having to skin animals to eat them. Why didn't the come ready to eat?

Gajeel sighed and tested the strength of the sick he was holding, "No, I can't smell any of them either." He frowned as the stick broke in half with little effort, "And as for the distance, let's just say half of yesterday's walk was a waste of time." Reaching in front of him, he picked up another stick.

"Well, that's no good." Pantherlily mumbled.

"You're telling me." Gajeel said, as he bent the stick, satisfied when it didn't break. "At least the rain stopped."

Gray scoffed while grabbing the skin of the rabbit and ripping it off, "Yea but our bags are missing. We have no tents, or sleeping bags." He scrunched up his face, whipping blood off of his hands, "and unless you plan on killing more of these to make a couple of beds, it's going to get cold and uncomfortable, really quick."

"I would suggest finding another cave, but we all know how that turned out last time." Pantherlily commented.

"Finding another cave wouldn't be that bad, but we don't have time to leisure around." Gajeel took the naked rabbit out of Gray's hands. "We need to move soon, either to find the others, or to find the source of the magic spikes." He jammed the stick threw the rabbit and balanced it over the fire.

"I agree, but first we need to eat." Gray said, and stabbed at the other rabbit.

* * *

"Lucy! Erza! Anyone?!" Natsu had been walking for hours searching for his friends with no avail. It was starting to get late, and the wind was picking up some. Every once in a while Happy would fly back from the skies with the report that he had seen nothing.

"Natsu, the sun is going down and we haven't even found a trace or anything." Happy dejectedly said, "What if they got buried under the snow? And now they're frozen! Ohh..." He then sniffed and hung his head.

Natsu rubbed his Exceeds head, "cheer up, buddy." He then grabbed Happy and lifted him so they were eye to eye, "Happy, after everything we have been through, do you honestly and truly think an avalanche is going to take us out?" He hugged Happy. "They will be okay, and we will find them. I promise."

Sniffing back the tears that threatened to escape, Happy snuggled up next to his slayer before jumping up and hovering above him. "Thank you, Natsu. I needed that!" He cheered, "I'm hungry though. Can we find some fish?"

Natsu laughed, "Okay Happy. Let's go find som-" He stopped and sniffed the air. "No way..." He sniffed more frantically.

"What is it?" The blue Exceed questioned.

"I think... No, I know... LUCY!" Natsu yelled as he took off.

"Natsu! Wait up!" Happy yelled, as he tried to catch up with the slayer.

Natsu ran as fast as he could. He knew that scent like it was his own. Lilacs and rain. It was Lucy, and he had no doubt in his mind about it. The smell was getting stronger and stronger by the minute. And as the scent got stronger, he noticed it was mixed with copper. _Shit, she's bleeding,_ he thought as he picked up his pace. Trees flew past him in a blur and he barely heard Happy yelling his name behind him. He needed to get to her.

After about ten minutes of running he stopped at the edge of a small clearing. It was Lucy all right. She was on the other side of the clearing, laying down on a small mat. Natsu started walking to her when he noticed that there was a tent he had never seen before and a blazing fire going. "What the hell?" He said out loud, as he got closer.

"Natsu." Virgo said, as she came out of the woods with more firewood. The pink haired spirit put the wood down and knelt by Lucy.

"What happened?" He asked, as he walked up to the two and stared down at Lucy. Her head and arms were covered in bandages and he gulped. "Is she okay?"

Virgo looked up at him, "I found the Princess buried under the snow." She pulled the blanket up more to cover Lucy. "She is fine, sleeping right now. I also noticed she had lost her belongings. I brought her a new bag, tent and clothes." She looked Natsu up and down, noticing that he also had no bags and disappeared.

Natsu knelt beside his best friend and grabbed her hand. "Wake up, Lucy." He said as he reached up to stroke her cheek.

He jumped as Virgo suddenly appeared again with bags and food in her arms. "Here is some for you as well." She laid the things down and went to Lucy, checking her pulse and make sure she didn't have a fever. "She should be waking up soon. There is an extra tent in your bag. It's going to be cold tonight, so please make sure the fire is kept up."

"Thank you, Virgo." Natsu nodded, as Happy flew over and landed by the blondes head. He looked down at her worriedly. "She's okay, Happy." The blue cat let out a sigh of relief.

"There is also fish in the bag for Happy as well." Virgo said. Feeling as though Lucy was now in good hands she turned to Natsu. "I assume she will be well taken care of, now that you are here, Natsu." She bowed deep, her hands folded together by her knees. "I must take my leave. Please tell the Princess not to hesitate to call me if she needs anything." With that, she disappeared in a cloud of sparkles and smoke.

Natsu dug into the bag that Virgo had generously brought them, he grabbed a big fish and handed it to Happy. "Fish! Thank you Natsu!" He took a huge bit out of it, smiling with the biggest smile the dragon slayer thought he had ever seen on the Exceed.

Making sure that Lucy was covered and warm, he also dug out the tent and set it up next to hers. After he was done doing that, he threw more wood on the fire and sat down next to the blonde. Some time later, Happy finished his fish and said goodnight to Natsu while flying into their tent for the night. "Night Happy." He answered.

Natsu sat in front of the fire for some time, watching the sun sink behind the mountains. Every once in a while he would look over to his friend, making sure she was warm, or to brush the hair out of her face. She sighed in her sleep and he couldn't help but smile a bit. He never understood why, but when Lucy was around, he was happy. No matter what was going on, in the back of his head he was happy. He went to brush more hair off of her face.

Lucy started to stir, which caused him pull his hand away quick. "Uhn... Wha... What happened?" She lazily said, as she slowly sat up. She looked at her surroundings, then her eyes landed on Natsu. "Where are we?" Grabbing the end of the blanket, she pulled it up to her chin.

Natsu sighed as he watched Lucy. "There was an avalanche and you got buried under the snow." He gave her a huge smile, "Virgo pulled you out. She also wrapped your wounds and set up the camp. Are you hungry?" He asked, once again going into the bag to pull out some bread and handed it in her

Lucy took the bread and held it in her hands. "Thanks." She pick a piece off and popped it into her mouth while looking around. It was dark and quiet. Too quiet. "Where is everyone else?" She ask, watching the light of the fire dance off his face. He looked adorable that way. It suited him.

He hung his head and stared at his feet. "We were all separated during the avalanche." Natsu scratched the back of his head and sighed, "Happy and I spent all day looking for them." He looked Lucy dead in the eye, "So far, you are the only one we found. And that was by chance."

Lucy mouthed the words 'ohh' and took a bite of her food. She wasn't feeling to great. Her body hurt and she was tired, "So, I guess tomorrow we should try to find the others." She stared at the fire then looked to Natsu, "I'm going to head to bed." Lucy yawned, getting up and walking to her tent.

"Good night, Lucy." Natsu said, as he watched her go. It was going to be a long day tomorrow. He got up and threw another log on the fire, before retiring to his own tent for the night.

* * *

Natsu couldn't sleep. He had been tossing and turning for about an hour now, and he couldn't get comfortable. Happy seemed to have no problems sleeping, but that was because he couldn't hear Lucy shivering in the tent next to them. He assumed that was the reason he wasn't falling asleep.

Sighing, Natsu sat up and debated on what he could do. He had already given her one of his blankets, since he didn't need both. It had worked for about ten minutes before she started shivering again. He could give her his scarf for the night, but then he would feel weird and not be able to sleep still. The last thing he could think of is to crawl in there and keep her warm himself, but that might end up with her kicking him in the face when she woke up. It would be worth it though. He slept best when she was right there.

He smiled, yeah the last idea was by far the best.

Getting up, Natsu walked out of his tent and to the fire. He stirred it then walked to the tent next to his. When he opened the flap, she was curled up in her sleeping bag, with three additional blankets covering her. He shook his head, he had no idea how she could still be cold. He took off his boots and set them next to hers before slowly pulling the blankets back and laying as soft as he could next to her. Within minutes she stopped shivering and he smiled. She was really cute.

It only took minutes for the dragon slayer to fall asleep.

**Awe. How cute. So, I'm thinking I'll have the next chapter up by maybe the end of next week? I'm hoping anyway. Because of how the story has come out so far, I have to change a couple of things in how I wanted it to come out, but I think it will be better.**

**Thanks guys!**


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